Monks – The Next Warcraft Class Type?

In the Burning Crusade, we got two new races, Draenai and Blood Elves. In Wrath of the Lich King we received a new class type, Death Knights. Then in Cataclysm we received two new races, Worgen and Goblins. So if the pattern continues we could see the next expansion offer up a new class type. Blizzard has even said they have considered a new healer type character class, but its hard to break away from the current system of mana for healers.

However with rumors of Mists of Pandaria being the next expansion, I can’t help but think a Monk class would fit well into the limited lore we do have on Pandarens and something Blizzard has said they are trying to do.

In Diablo 3, the new Monk class looks to be a very melee heavy class, utilizing fist weapons and staves mostly. They are described though as holy men. Many of their abilities show them unleashing large damage via energy. In Guild Wars, you see the monk as a clerical type class being able to heal and purge diseases from party members. In EverQuest the Monk was a hand to hand combat fighter, with the ability to mend wounds. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes had a monk class which was more of a healing character. Final Fantasy also had a monk, which was more of the melee type fighter. Ragnarok Online’s monk was also a melee fighter class.

As you can see there is a common theme of Monks being mostly a melee class, but having some way to assist in healing their allies in some games. So what could a World of Warcraft Monk look like? If you go with the idea that we need another healer, then I wouldn’t mind seeing a hybrid DPS Healer. My idea is that the more DPS you do, it would maybe convert all your damage into energy that you could unleash to heal others. It would create a new dynamic for healing, where healers are more interactive with a boss or mob, and that interaction would directly heal or build up energy to allow them to heal others.

One of the biggest complaints some healers have is they feel they are just playing “whack-a-mole”. Also many people do not want to jump into healing because the mechanics are very different from tanking or DPS because both of those interact with a mob or boss, while healers for the most part don’t. So to create a new system, perhaps making a DPS healer hybrid makes sense potentially to get a healer class out of the mana system to create a new dynamic.

The biggest problem with this idea is most Monks are also considered to be a melee class type, and there is a ton of Melee class types now, unless Blizzard were to make this type of Monk more of a mix of ranged and melee? Not sure how that would work but it would definitely be something different.

I would love for monks to be the next class; they have always been my favorite archetype.

Enhancement shamans roughly fill the niche of a close combat support class, though they obviously use elemental magic instead of holy. I’ve always thought feral druids are similar to monks too (using paws is just like hand to hand combat!), but I’m probably the only one who sees that.

I think it’d be really cool for fist weapons to be used in the game again. There are already agility staves, so monks could use those too. In other games, the monk-type class was characterized as a close combat (i.e. doesn’t use swords or ranged attacks) character with self-buffs, weak heals, and strong crowd control or stuns. Right now that sounds like a holy enhancement shaman rogue, but I’m sure a good game designer could come up with a way to make it more unique.

I think originally, the plan with a priest’s discipline spec was to be monk-like, but I can’t remember the specifics.

I would love to see the implementation of a Melee/Healer/Hybrid class. However, not to copycat the role of a Shaman. Maybe appearing similar in some aspects. But in a way that actually allows you to play a hybrid during a raid AND be viable at the same time. Rather than hampering your performance, for the sake of playstyle.

I don’t mean hybrid as in you can Tank/Heal/DPS if you spec right. But actually being able to do a combination on one spec.

As much as I’d love to see a Monk class, it would have to be done properly. We have the Rogue which is a melee-only class, so a Monk would have to be even more specialized.

Your idea of having damage be converted to healing is one that I’ve seen mentioned before, and it’s one that I think I like the best. Great post, some great ideas!Corath´s last blog post ..Memories of Azeroth – Hellfire Peninsula

I’ve seen this idea come up a couple times in the past few weeks, and it’s really intriguing! I like the comparison of how other games do the monk class. I’m really interested in how it would translate into the WoW style of gameplay without feeling too much like another class.red cow´s last blog post ..Day 4: Greatest Accomplishment

yeah my fear is that they create a class that feels too similar to a shaman or rogue, but the idea of a character class doing damage to heal would be something different and break the mold of what a healer is today.

Woot, random blog of the week – get ready for comments from complete strangers like me 😀

I like the idea of another class, but not entirely sure it is needed all that much? The idea of a healer that converts or something is awesome, but you would have to make sure people didn’t all become that class because it is easier than being a healer as they are currently…(I don’t play a healer but so many people complain about it).

Nice to be thinking about different classes that could be possible though 😀dragonray´s last blog post ..Just a few achievements…

Perhaps I am looking at this differently, but would not Pandarians be a great way to try in or create even more Lore. The world as we knew it got rocked by Deathwing in Cataclysm, but there is going to be some serious repairs or remaking needed to the world and the Druids cannot be the only ones wanting to bring the healing. Plus along with Shamans being a multifaceted class another a hybrid class would offer another “blended” playing style to offer the players. There is certainly a lot to work with for Blizzard to offer in the next expansion.